Why flag?

5 Answers

In traditional everyday Spanish, if you are sorry to someone, simply say "siento".
If you are sorry for something specific, then say "lo siento".
If you are merely being polite for interrupting or asking a question, say "¡perdone!

I've seen several ways of apologizing in novelas, and they each seem to have a slightly different connotation. Note that these are only my observations of how they were used and the connotation I get from each of them and not explanations from a native speaker. Also, all the conjugations I've given here are in the tú form, so they may need reconjugation to fit a different situation.

"Discúlpame" is another general "sorry," I believe. If you look at it, it's literally "disblame me."

"Te pido disculpas" feels to me something like a more formal apology. "I apologize." I think "te pido perdón" would be a formal way for asking for forgiveness (I ask your forgiveness).

"Disculpa" is what two kids said to each other when a teacher told them to apologize to each other.

"Lo lamento" was used when someone did something that caused other grief but needed to keep doing it. E.g., people were watching a football game in a bar and someone changed the station to the news to watch about a plane crash. The bar patrons complained, and the woman said something like: "Lo lamento, pero necesito mirar esto."

"Lo siento" is something I feel like you'd say to someone if they suffered something that wasn't your fault. E.g., their pet died, "Lo siento" (I feel it). Note that it must be "lo siento" and not "siento" because sentir is transitive and needs an object in order to be grammatical.

If you need to ask for directions, or disturb someone, you could use Perdóneme, or Disculpeme. If you are saying sorry about something you did not physically do, such as a death of a relative, people tend to say Te ofrezco mi mas sentido pesame, or "I offer you my deepest condolences".

Popular Conjugations

SpanishDict is devoted to improving our site based on user feedback and introducing new and innovative features that will continue to help people learn and love the Spanish language. Have a suggestion, idea, or comment? Send us your feedback.

Your nameEmail addressSubjectMessage

Make Your Voice Heard

You've been randomly selected to participate in a short, 5 question
survey on your experience with SpanishDict. We'll use your comments
to help improve your experience.Will you participate?